Decolourization and cod reduction of textile wastewater by ozonation in combination with biological treatment

ABSTRACT In this study, the characteristics of colour and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of azo dye by ozonation and biological treatment were evaluated for applying in industrial azo dye effluent treatment. Reactive Red 120 has been selected from among azo dyes due to its high solubility in an aquatic environment. The experimentation was arranged in two stages: during the first, only ozonation was performed, while, during the second stage, ozonation was integrated with biological treatment of completely mixed activated sludge (CMAS). COD removal was contributed simultaneously by the ozonation and biological treatment mechanism at lower ozone doses. However, it was significantly the result of direct oxidation at higher ozone doses. Ozonation of dyes usually leads to small organic molecular fragments that lead to a residual COD. The biological treatment is more efficient at mineralizing the by-products of the ozonation, but less efficient at colour reduction than the ozonation process itself. Thus, COD resulting from these small newly formed molecules can be further degraded by biological treatment. Therefore, ozonation should be applied at a medium ozone dose as a pre-treatment for a combined ozonationbiological treatment for azo dye removal

Robotic-assisted thyroidectomy: a new experience in anaesthesia

This is our first experience in providing general anaesthesia for robotic-assisted thyroidectomy (RAT). It is rather a new experience for our anaesthetic team and few issues should be addressed. The conduct of RAT must be fully understood and familiarized as it may present with few challenges for the anaesthesiologists. The key point of success during this learning curve period is the importance of teamwork between the anaesthesiologists and the operating surgeons. The specific anaesthetic challenges include limited access to the patient post-docking of the robot, the need of extra precautions of the anaesthetic circuit and IV line connections, a vigilant anaesthesiologists and options for postoperative pain relief

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Offline LabVIEW-Based EEG Signals Analysis to Detect Vehicle Driver Microsleep

Microsleep is often known as unintended loss of attention and alertness within short period of time briefly between a second up to 30 sec. Microsleep might be dangerous to vehicle driver especially for long-distance driver due to unawareness and loss of focus towards surrounding environment.Thus, microsleep detection system based on Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is proposed in this research to prevent the drivers to involve in the accidents. For investigation purpose, six samples are chosen to obtain their brain signals using NeuroSky Mindwave Mobile Headset and eegID mobile application in two different states which are relax state for 5 min and driving state for 1 hour. Besides, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) is constructed using LabVIEW toanalyze the EEG signals. The captured EEG signals then, are undergone preprocessing to remove noises and undesired artifacts. Bandpass filter is then applied to brainwaves to split the signals into Alpha and Theta waves. The patterns of these waves are examined and analyzed using power spectrum technique to search for unique features that might relate to microsleep event. The kNN classifier is employed to classify the selected features in term of Standard Deviation (SD) and Spectral Centroid (SC). The best classification accuracy for SD and SC features are obtained at 82.83% and 77.65% respectively for 80:20 training-testing ratios. Besides, the analysis of EEG Alpha and Theta band using Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) technique able to localize the EEG signals to indicate the exact time of the microsleep occurrence. The alarm system and steering vibration motor are assembled and will be activated for any detection of microsleep event

The impact of TiO2 nanostructures on the physical properties and electrical performance of organic solar cells based on PTB7:PC71BM bulk heterojunctions

Hybrid organic solar cells based on pairs of donor and acceptor materials offer enhanced light absorption width and surface morphology. In order to investigate the role of introducing metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) and thermal annealing on the optical, structural and morphological behaviours of the active layer polymers’ [poly([4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl]{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl}):[6,6]-Phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PTB7:PC71BM), thin films with and without the addition of 10% TiO2 nanoparticles (NP) were prepared and characterized. Ultraviolet–Visible- Near-infrared (UV–Vis-NIR) Spectrophotometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to characterize the thin films. Results show that incorporation of the TiO2 (NPs) with annealing treatment of the thin films enhanced the optical absorption and crystallinity of the PTB7:PC71BM blend. The device based on PTB7:PC71BM showed power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.6%. The incorporation of 10%-TiO2 into the PTB7:PC71BM blend leads to a sharp drop in PCE (0.08%)

EFFECT OF PANDANUS AMARYLLIFOLIUS FIBRE ON PHYSIO-MECHANICAL, THERMAL AND BIODEGRADABILITY OF THERMOPLASTIC CASSAVA STARCH/BEESWAX COMPOSITES

Pandanus amaryllifolius fbre (PAF) is an agricultural waste plant derived from the natural cellulosic source of fbre that can be used in various bio-material applications. In the present study, a novel biodegradable thermoplastic cassava starch/beeswax blends reinforced with Pandanus amaryllifolius fbre (TCPS/BW/PAF) bio-composites were successfully developed at varied Pandanus amaryllifolius fbre concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 wt% while beeswax loading was remained constant at 2.5 wt% concentration using hot moulding compression method. A comprehensive characterisation of TCPS/ BW/PAF bio-composites was examined in terms of their physical, mechanical, thermal and biodegradation properties. The addition of Pandanus amaryllifolius fbre has signifcantly improved tensile strength and tensile modulus at maximum value obtained 10.9 and 606.5 MPa, respectively as well as fexural strength and fexural modulus of bio-composite at maximum value obtained 21.37 and 523.76 MPa, respectively until 50 wt% Pandanus amaryllifolius fbre loading. Surface morphology of the fractured tensile samples PAF10 to PAF50 shows compacted structure and fbre breakage, indicating efective stress transfer from starch matrix to PAF during tensile force application. Furthermore, the addition of Pandanus amaryllifolius fbre improved thermal stability from TG, DTG and DSC results; improved crystallinity from XRD analysis; reduced water and moisture afnity from physical properties testing, and lowered the biodegradation rate. Overall, this study shows the potential of TCPS/BW/PAF bio-composites in biopolymer application and bio-packaging industries